[print-me]
Hey, what do you expect from Rocketman? OK, a cheeseboard is a bit of an anti-climax, but my rockets are in being serviced.
So, until I get my rockets back, I thought I would make a fused glass cheeseboard. Nothing too demanding, but just a little artistic. You could also use it as a small cutting board, a fruit platter and so on.
So here is how it came about.
For the base of the board I used a squarish piece of 6mm Bullseye clear offcut. It was close to the size I wanted so needed no cutting. I say squarish because it needed a little grinding on the edges to tidy it up and make it square.
Once it was square I selected a few scraps of black and shaped them to form the rocket body and fins. For the nose cap I shaped a small piece of red.
The rocket flame was made from a piece of yellow and a smaller piece of red stacked on top.
The ‘Black Hole’ in the top left corner was a small circle of black glass surrounded by coarse blue glass frit (ground glass). The dying sun in the bottom right corner was also shaped from a small piece of black glass, placed in the corner and then finished with yellow and red glass frit.
For planets I added a couple of small black cabochons and a single blue cabochon for the blue planet. The rocket, of course, is headed for the blue planet.
Once everything was cleaned and assembled it went into the kiln for a full fuse to flatten completely. Can’t have too much texture for a cheeseboard.
You can see the board bulged around the dying sun, but this is art, and not perfection.
I love it. Hope you find some inspiration in it. Let your imagination run wild and give it a go.
BTW, all glass is Bullseye 90 COE fusible glass, and the firing schedule is below.
Firing Schedule
Full Fuse – ‘Dying of the Light’ Cheeseboard
Please be aware that all kilns fire differently and this schedule may not produce the same results in your kiln.
| Segment | Rate (C/hr) | Target (C) | Hold (mns) |
| 1. Strain Release | 222 | 537 | 10 |
| 2. Process | 333 | 780 | 20 |
| Crash Cool | Open Door | 550 | 0 |
| 3. Anneal | Full | 516 | 60 |
| 4. Cool | 83 | 371 | 10 |